NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: ASTORIA; New Tune for Old Factory?

For seven years, the old Steinway piano factory in Astoria has stood derelict and abandoned, a six-story testament to the ravages of time and the angry debates that often surround property development proposals.

But on Tuesday, Community Board 1 voted unanimously to recommend a zoning change that would allow a real estate developer to convert the brick building, at 45th Street and Ditmars Boulevard, into a residence of about 300 units for the elderly. The vote came during a tense public meeting in which some local residents made last-minute pleas to the board and denounced the plan.

''I don't know how they based their decision, and I don't think they really represented the community's view,'' said Susan Nicoletta, who lives three blocks from the building.

If the City Council rezones the building from commercial to residential, which is likely following the board's recommendation, the developer, Nikos Kefalidis of Manhattan, said he planned to begin a $30 million project to build 142 units for assisted living and 163 apartments renting for $800 to $1,000 a month. Almost all are intended for single occupancy.

Mr. Kefalidis's plan calls for two nonprofit groups, Phipps Houses and the Visiting Nurse Service of New York, to own and manage the assisted living portion. The developer would own the rental units, which would be managed by Phipps Houses and rented to people 62 or older.

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''Every project has its detractors,'' said Adam Weinstein, an executive with Phipps Houses. ''But we think this will be the envy of New York.''

On Tuesday evening, in a dimly lighted banquet hall of the Astoria World Manor, Mr. Weinstein and other project managers fielded questions from an audience of 38 board members and 100 or so local residents. At times, the session turned raucous as residents clapped loudly and yelled at the developers while the board chairman, Vinicio Donato, tried to calm the room. Two police officers watched from the doorway.

Many expressed concerns that the multiunit residence will ruin the feel of their neighborhood, with its single-family houses, and that the 75 parking spaces planned for the project are inadequate for residents and their visitors, which would lead to overflow to nearby streets. Last June, the board rejected a proposal by Mr. Kefalidis to convert the factory into a 275-unit rental building.

Some residents also suggested on Tuesday that Mr. Kefalidis tear down the building and develop one- or two-family homes instead.

''If they want to demolish it, they can buy it and demolish it,'' Mr. Kefalidis said of the factory, which was built in 1901 by the Steinway family and last used to house furniture for Stern's department store. ''But is that an improvement?'' EDWARD WONG